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JennGM
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Digital Cameras
Marian May Day Baskets
I'm trying to research buying a digital camera. I've gotten some good suggestions from the above threads, but I have a few more questions.
The pictures everyone are posting are very clear and beautiful.
What I'm wondering is at what level of megapixels is high enough for printing? Or should I just forget that aspect until much later when a book would actually be in the works. I want to keep a photo record of table settings, foods, crafts, etc. to eventually use in a book form. I love the Martha Stewart look, and Cooking with the Saints is the closest in the Catholic world with full-color illustrations of the recipes he includes.
Would anyone have contact with a publisher or know offhand that digital capability just won't match print world technology?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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MaryM
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I am also in the market so have similar questions. I know several of you have recommended the Sony Cyber-shot, but there are many models. Which models do have? What about level of zoom you all have?
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Mary M. in Denver
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Dawn
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MaryM wrote:
| I know several of you have recommended the Sony Cyber-shot, but there are many models. Which models do have? What about level of zoom you all have? |
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Mary and Jenn,
I have a Cyber-shot. I am looking at it now and it says 3x, optical zoom, 7.2 mega-pixels + mpeg movieVX DSC-W7.
I can't tell you what all that means (and dh just ran to pick up the pizza so I can ask him when he gets back).
I can say I love my camera ... but I don't know how it would be for publishing purposes.
Good luck!
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JennGM
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I looked at this one Sony Cybershot DSC-H1. It's pricey, but the zoom and focus is wonderful. Lots of great features. I'm used to an SLR, and this one is lighter and more handy than what I have....but I don't know if it's worth it. I'm reading up on Consumer Reports and other reviews...but the market is changing so fast....
My sister has a theory that she pays for a cheaper one, and if that breaks she can replace easily with another, maybe more spiffy model down the road when the prices go down. She has a Kodak something and the pictures are incredible, even the printed ones. Really great close-ups and clear portrait pics.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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MaryM
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Dawn wrote:
I have a Cyber-shot. I am looking at it now and it says 3x, optical zoom, 7.2 mega-pixels + mpeg movieVX DSC-W7. |
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Thanks, DSC-W7 is what I needed.
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MicheleQ
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Jen I think this is a good choice. That 12x optical zoom will give you great close-up shots and at 5.1 meagpixels you'll get great prints too.
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Dawn
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MaryM wrote:
Dawn wrote:
I have a Cyber-shot. I am looking at it now and it says 3x, optical zoom, 7.2 mega-pixels + mpeg movieVX DSC-W7. |
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Thanks, DSC-W7 is what I needed. |
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I was just talking with my husband about our camera and checking the one Jenn mentioned above online. I told him the only thing I find lacking in ours is that it doesn't zoom enough. I find I take a lot of bird and critter pictures (often from windows) and a better zoom would come in handy.
First he told me we are not getting a new camera.  Then he showed me this conversion lens which we can buy and attach to our camera and give us a better zoom. Hmmmm ...
Isn't Mother's Day just around the corner ... 
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here are 3 websites that helped us make our choice:
Digital Camera Reviews
Steve's Digicams
Digital Camera Reviews from DC Resource
For publishing, I'm not sure. I just know Heidi Swanson of 101Cookbooks.com uses a Canon 20D and a Fuji (?), and Clotilde of ChocolateandZucchini.com uses a Nikon D70. Both are in the $1K range though. Too pricey for me. Heidi is a professional photographer and her book Cook 1.0 was published a year or two ago. Clotilde is working on her book right now. The guy behind ChubbyHubby.net (awesome food photos) uses a Nikon D70 as well. In case you're interested Jenn, Sam of Beck's Posh and Nosh has a food photography pool at Flickr (I'm a member but haven't submitted anything yet, just learning from the others), and there's excellent advice (free!) that can be found at http://stilllifewith.com/.
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Elizabeth
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Mine is a Sony Cybershot 3X, 5.1 mega pixels In skilled hands, it's awesome. My son has his pictures, all taken with this camera, up on his blog.(Not in the photo albums, but on the blog itself--the photos in the album are older than the camera).
If you like them, let him know. No one ever visits his blog.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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JennGM
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stefoodie wrote:
| For publishing, I'm not sure. I just know Heidi Swanson of 101Cookbooks.com uses a Canon 20D and a Fuji (?), and Clotilde of ChocolateandZucchini.com uses a Nikon D70. Both are in the $1K range though. Too pricey for me. Heidi is a professional photographer and her book Cook 1.0 was published a year or two ago. Clotilde is working on her book right now. The guy behind ChubbyHubby.net (awesome food photos) uses a Nikon D70 as well. In case you're interested Jenn, Sam of Beck's Posh and Nosh has a food photography pool at Flickr (I'm a member but haven't submitted anything yet, just learning from the others), and there's excellent advice (free!) that can be found at http://stilllifewith.com/. |
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Thanks, Stef. A lot of food for thought. I think I should just push out the publishing idea...$1K is way too much for me, too!
So what camera do you have Stef? I can't remember if you told me before.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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stefoodie
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LOL, i forgot to answer the question!
I, or I should say, WE, have a Panasonic Lumix FZ20. I split it with my daughter who saved up for it for MONTHS.
It's a good camera, but if I had to I can live without it -- hubby's old SLR works fine. It's the food styling that frustrates me!
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Christine
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We have the Canon Rebel from Costco. The quality of the photos on my blog do not reflect the quality of the photos, as I reduce their quality considerably before adding them to the blog. A benefit of a DSLR camera (digital SLR) is the speed at which you can take the photo. There are probably some other benefits about which my husband is aware, but the speed is a big one for me. Our digital Olympus has a lot of lag time, so I have missed some great photos of the children. Until I gave my husband the Canon Rebel, I did not like digital cameras. Despit the fact that it was expensive (and finances are tight for my family), I believe it was a worthwhile purchase.
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KC in TX
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Oh, goody, I can answer a question for Jenn. I spoke with my brother who is part time professional photographer. He thinks you should get either the Canon Rebel such as Christine suggested or the Nikon D50 . He stated that for pictures that you print small than an 8x10 you only need 4-5 megapixels. The more megapixels you have the better quality print in the larger pictures.
He also said you need to look at lens quality for your pictures. If you already have an SLR compatible to these cameras then you can use those lenses.
Hope that helps. A digital SLR is on my wishlist next for a big fun purchase.
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JennGM
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Thanks, KC and Christine! This helps a lot.
I remember reading this article on Buying Digital Cameras from the Wall Street Journal and just dug it up to look at features of what I want in a camera. It's hard for me to decipher all the jargon.
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stefoodie
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jenn, i forgot to mention. if you want to take pics ala the martha stewart book, what you need is a good macro lens, in addition to the optical zoom and the MPs. this is my frustration with my Lumix. i've got high MPs, and it has optical zoom, BUT if i wanted more close up, absolutely clear pictures (with a fuzzy background which is what i like) i have to get a $300 lens. something about depth of field, setting it at 1.4 with high speed shutter??? LOL, i'm just repeating what i read elsewhere, i don't know what it all means. i've been reading photography sites and books but right now it's all over my head.
are there maybe photography buffs here that could help?
another thing is lighting. one of my projects this week is to make a lightbox so i can put my food in there and shoot it with really good lighting. i'll send you links if you want.
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JennGM
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stefoodie wrote:
| another thing is lighting. one of my projects this week is to make a lightbox so i can put my food in there and shoot it with really good lighting. i'll send you links if you want. |
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All this is so helpful. Send me any links!
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stefoodie
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Whoops, sorry, Jenn. Forgot to respond to this.
Homemade Light Box for Food Photography
DIY Lightbox from Jyoseph.com
and again stilllifewith.com has excellent tips and instructions.
hth,
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I have a question/problem. For some reason my camera (Sony Cyber-shot) seems to be stuck. 
Earlier today, as I was taking a picture, the camera started beeping and the back screen said Turn power on and off again. I tried this, and it seemed to be trying to retract the zoom, but the beeping happened again and the same message flashed. The lenses remain frozen zoomed out. I thought maybe it was a battery thing, but I just put fresh batteries in and the same thing happened.  
Could this be a result of possibly getting the camera a bit wet while snapping pictures outside, in the rain, crouched under the rhododenrdon bushes (long story, don't ask)? I tried to shelter the camera but it is possible some moisture got in there.
Have any Cyber-shot users had this happen before? Am I (or more accurately my camera) doomed? 
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Dawn wrote:
| I have a question/problem. For some reason my camera (Sony Cyber-shot) seems to be stuck. |
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Dawn, I don't have an answer, but have you tried Support Forum? I don't know the model, or I'd search for you. What about Googling some of the other terms, like the error message?
I've had to send a camera back for repair. The wait is no fun!
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oh no. yes, the moisture may have something to do with it -- maybe something shorted? our camera came with instructions not to let it ever get wet, or near sand. i've been guilty of letting it get too near flour and oil though  -- i'd contact customer service at sony and ask.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: More Digital Camera Questions
